U.S. lawsuits build against Monsanto over alleged Roundup cancer link

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Personal injury law firms around the
United States are lining up plaintiffs for what they say could
be "mass tort" actions against agrichemical giant Monsanto Co
that claim the company's Roundup herbicide has caused
cancer in farm workers and others exposed to the chemical.

The latest lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Delaware Superior
Court by three law firms representing three plaintiffs.

The lawsuit is similar to others filed last month in New
York and California accusing Monsanto of long knowing that the
main ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, was hazardous to human
health. Monsanto "led a prolonged campaign of
misinformation to convince government agencies, farmers and the
general population that Roundup was safe," the lawsuit states.

The litigation follows the World Health Organization's
declaration in March that there was sufficient evidence to
classify glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

"We can prove that Monsanto knew about the dangers of
glyphosate," said Michael McDivitt, whose Colorado-based law
firm is putting together cases for 50 individuals. "There are a
lot of studies showing glyphosate causes these cancers."

The firm held town hall gatherings in August in Kansas,
Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska seeking clients.

Monsanto said the WHO classification is wrong and that
glyphosate is among the safest pesticides on the planet.

"Glyphosate is not a carcinogen," company spokeswoman Charla
Lord said in an emailed statement. "The most extensive worldwide
human health databases ever compiled on an agricultural product
contradict the claims in the suits."
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